At times in my life, I have stubbornly refused to forgive and have been known to carry a grudge for a while. Sometimes for some very dumb reasons too.
Luckily, I have not had to forgive a spouse’s infidelity or a parent who was ruthlessly cruel. Ironically, probably people have had to forgive me a lot more than I needed to forgive.
Why does forgiveness matter? Well, first and foremost, it is a command from God. Matthew 6:14-15 spells it out this way. If you forgive, God will forgive you, but if you do not forgive others, God will not forgive your sins. That does not sound optional to me!
Another reason is, we should reflect Christ in our daily lives. What better way to look like Jesus than when we forgive others. When we extend forgiveness, then others see us as merciful. That just might point someone to Christ instead of away from Him.
One last reason I will point out is that often, forgiveness restores fellowship. You can not impact someone for Christ if you are alienated from them. We are called to influence others toward Christ. You cannot do that from behind a wall of bitterness and never speaking to them.
Need more reasons? It heals wounds that hurt you, it relieves you from vengeance and can bring back a lost friend/family member.
Forgiveness does not mean that you stay a doormat and let people continue to abuse you. It does not mean that you forget what happened to you. It may not happen overnight.
It does mean that you move past it. That you grow from and through it. From that growth, you change. You grow and change from bitterness, aloneness and alienation and become so much more like Christ because of it. You overcome the circumstances you were in or those you endured.
Forgiveness. Whose do you need to seek? Who do you need to forgive? Let forgiveness be the river that brings nourishment to a dry, dusty, cracked landscape that brings new life to it. Let forgiveness nourish and restore your soul.
Let forgiveness align you with the heart of God. Let it demonstrate His love and forgiveness of our sins. Let it show others how Jesus forgave those who tortured Him on the cross and throughout His life.
Journey of Faith 